NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94: Undercurrents Stirring
After the "Cardinal Priest Rebellion," Charlotte settled down in the Holy Palace.
It must be said, the effect of the "Divine Miracle" in front of the Sculpture Square was quite remarkable.
When she first arrived at the Church Authority Country, Charlotte could clearly feel the vigilance from many priests towards her, but after she displayed the "Divine Miracle," everything changed.
Endless requests for audiences, inexhaustible offerings of resources, the clergy in the Holy Palace showed her more dedication than even the attendants of the Falling Star Kingdom.
Almost any request she made was fulfilled, any materials she wanted to see were delivered almost immediately, even if Charlotte wanted to see some of the church's secrets and banned books, she only needed to mention it to the serving priest. If she said it in the morning, it would be delivered by the afternoon at the latest.
The power of faith is truly strong. Charlotte could even see the shining stars in the eyes of the priests and knights when they looked at her, the kind of almost overflowing fervor that even made her, a "fake Saintess," feel a bit guilty.
The food delivered daily to the Holy Palace never repeated, and consisted of special delicacies from the Falling Star Kingdom and New Moon Kingdom, many of which were rare even for the Falling Star Royal Family, especially those transcendent ingredients benefiting the body and containing magic power, clearly showing care.
As for the Saintess attire, and the Holy Artifacts matching the Saintess identity, they were prepared in a complete set long before. According to Nisi, even the least noticeable Holy Cross Earrings among the various holy accessories sent by the Church Authority Country would be worth six figures in gold Tana on the black market.
Even though Charlotte has not yet completed the formal certification of the Saintess identity.
Furthermore, the Church Authority Country even wanted to arrange for up to a hundred female priests who believe in the divine to attend to her.
Of course, Charlotte politely declined.
Too enthusiastic, far too enthusiastic, so much so that Charlotte felt uncomfortable.
She felt like a skyrocketing idol overnight in the Heavenly Dynasty of her previous life.
No, more outrageous than an idol, the clergy in the Holy Palace, when seeing her, acted even more exaggerated than the fervent fans in her previous life.
It can only be said that after the "Divine Miracle," the Church Authority Country truly treated her as a divine envoy, part of the church's own.
At least... on the surface.
And as for why only on the surface, that's because Charlotte suspects it might be a way for the Sun Divine Palace to lull her.
To be honest, if Charlotte hadn't known from the Guardian's Staff that the Church Authority Country had already been infiltrated like a sieve, she might have truly believed in their enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm, definitely present, some true believers genuinely respect her, worship her, especially among the priests wishing to visit, the praises and devotion in various letters, if not from the heart, would be hard to write.
But on the other hand, this might also be the calm before the storm.
Charlotte could sense that the feeling of threat still existed in the shadows, not only that, but it was growing stronger over time.
However, Charlotte could not perceive what it was, as if something was blocking her investigation, she had reason to suspect it was also something collected by the Holy Royal Court capable of isolating detection or observation.
Charlotte also wasn't in a position to personally investigate.
This was also a side effect after the "Divine Miracle," she had almost become the sole focus in the entire Holy Palace, almost all eyes were on her, which in turn left her unable to act alone.
Charlotte even suspected that this was precisely the Sun Divine Palace's intention, to "trap" her inside the Holy Palace.
Charlotte had considered leaving the Holy Palace to go into the Holy City, but after experiencing the frenzy of priests and believers once, she gave up.
Assuming the "Saintess" identity placed certain shackles on Charlotte, making her unable to move freely as before.
She couldn't, just as the Sun Divine Palace didn't want to be exposed, Charlotte also couldn't reveal her awareness of their secrets.
Fortunately, Charlotte had her own followers.
After careful consideration, Charlotte ultimately let Sebastian and Nisi replace her in investigating, while she commanded from behind the scenes through contact with the two, creating an illusion through Bloodline Magic that neither had left.
Indeed, Charlotte couldn't investigate personally, but could use Sebastian and Nisi as her eyes.
Not only that, at critical moments, she could also employ Divine Descent through contact with the two!
As for the tracking from the Guardian's Staff, the task of pursuing the Bloodline captives' traces was ongoing, synchronized with Charlotte's search for the threat's origin.
Aside from that, Charlotte focused daily on strengthening her connection with the Holy Royal Court's Faith Network with the Guardian's Staff assistance.
This was preparation for her future control over the Divine Artifact.
As for how to strengthen, it was simple, just pray according to the rites provided by the Guardian's Staff.
The identity of the Guardian's Staff should be unquestionable, Charlotte had repeatedly verified this, indeed being the Divine Lord Haral's Divine Artifact, it held no malice towards Charlotte, through its rites, she clearly felt herself growing more attuned with the Holy Royal Court's faith.
Moreover, as her omnipotence gradually increased, Charlotte was surprised to find she could even grant Sebastian and Nisi, her followers, certain abilities to use Holy Power, similar to the Blood Favored's capability.
This indirectly confirmed the same origin of Blood Divine Power and Holy Power.
However, Charlotte's desire to participate in the interrogation of Cardinal Priest Filiberto was rejected by the Judgement Court.
The Great Judge explained that heresy trials were the darkness within the Royal Court, the Judgement Court neither wished nor wanted to sully Charlotte's eyes.
This was not surprising to Charlotte.
According to the Guardian's Staff, Chief High Priest Gregory XII had considerable issues, so being his close aide, the Great Judge couldn't escape suspicion.
The Holy Hall Knight Order and Demon Hunting Institute seemed to have less deep infiltration by the Sun Divine Palace.
But, to be cautious, Charlotte didn't rashly contact the Holy Hall Knight Order and Demon Hunting Institute.
As for the daily invitations and requests for audiences, Charlotte declined them all because she was truly occupied.
Collecting intelligence on the priests was best entrusted to the Guardian's Staff—it was most prudent; her direct involvement might result in exposure.
Days passed, and four days later, Charlotte received news from the Judgement Court.
The "truth" and "mastermind" behind the Cardinal Priest Filiberto's rebellion... had been uncovered.
"The Judgement Court reported that it was a faction of Fallen priests attempting to overthrow the Church Authority within the country, led by four Cardinal priests including Filiberto."
"Nisi and I secretly used the divine arts you taught us to verify, like Filiberto, the captured priests equally lacked holy faith."
Sebastian reported after investigating.
"What about Filiberto?"
Charlotte inquired.
"He is dead, according to the Judgement Court, it was suicide out of guilt."
Sebastian replied.
Charlotte nodded slightly.
It seems Filiberto was silenced. He might have known the most among these captured "fake believers."
However, simply silencing all priests and knights involved in the rebellion should suffice, why did the Judgement Court really proceed to arrest so many unexposed "fake believers" afterwards?
Among them were even Cardinal priests, who were at the Legendary Level.
This seems unnecessary, after all, these "fake believers" were also Sun believers.
Could it be the Judgement Court was truly "investigating"?
Or did Gregory XII fear that Charlotte would catch them first and find something?
But that's unlikely; she hadn't acted these days.
There was an issue.
There was indeed a problem.
Every action has a driving force behind it.
Then...why would the Sun Divine Palace, intending to deal with mythical Charlotte, not hesitate to expose and even eliminate some high-tier Sun believers?
Or perhaps "eliminating" these Sun believers without holy faith aids their upcoming plans?
Charlotte sank into contemplation.